The UK Government should admire and learn from Wales, Shadow Welsh Secretary Owen Smith will claim later. In a speech to the Welsh Labour conference in Swansea, he'll announce that the Welsh Government would be given responsibility for the Work Programme, which is aimed at the long term unemployed, if Labour gains power at Westminster.

Mr Smith will also say that Labour "has got its mojo back" under Ed Miliband, who yesterday pledged a series of new powers for the Welsh Assembly if he becomes Prime Minister.

From tax avoidance to the abuse of corporate and media power an Ed Miliband led government will deliver the fair play and fair rules - the chwarae teg that people expect in Wales - and rightly expect from Labour in particular.

Ed Miliband has also been clear that a new era of partnership and respect must be rebuilt between the governments in Wales and Westminster, after the Tory War on Wales. Instead of a Tory government that sneers at Wales, we need a UK government that admires and learns from Wales. One area where we have already learned from Wales is on job creation for young people.
Carwyn's government has done an infinitely better job than the Tories with our Welsh employment programmes. A UK Labour government will recognise that expertise and invest trust in Wales to do even more in future by devolving to Wales responsibility for the Work Programme - currently run from Westminster by the Department for Work and Pensions.

Advertisement

Labour leader Ed Miliband has promised a Welsh parliament with sweeping new powers over ports, energy and a greater say over policing. He made that pledge at the party's Welsh conference in Swansea this afternoon.

Mr Miliband talked a lot about taking action, but the actions of his Labour MPs over the past five years speak volumes.
Time and time again the Labour party has voted against the Welsh national interest, has failed to empower our National Assembly with additional powers and responsibilities, and has instead chosen to keep power in the hands of the Westminster elite.
On fair funding, the people of Wales deserve nothing less than full equality with Scotland which would translate into an additional £1.2billion each year. Mr Miliband gave no commitment to Wales that a Labour government would deliver parity with Scotland.

Labour leader Ed Miliband has told the Welsh Labour conference what extra powers a Labour Government at Westminster would devolve to Wales. In his speech to delegates in Swansea, he referred to the National Assembly as "the Welsh Parliament" and pre-empted the conclusion of cross-party talks aimed at delivering an agreement by St David's Day.

On one of the issues that's believed to have caused the most difficultly during the talks chaired by Welsh Secretary Stephen Crabb -the devolution of policing- the Labour leader announced that his party intended to implement a compromise solution.

Under a Labour government the Welsh Parliament will play a greater role in the lives of the Welsh people, with power over ports, elections, energy and a greater say over policing.

My Labour government will enact proposals from the Silk Commission and more. Because I believe the Welsh people should have the power to decide who gets to choose their representatives and how it is that they choose their representatives.

So powers over elections in Wales should be in the hands of the Parliament. This means that Wales will be able to choose to extend the franchise, as they did in Scotland for the referendum. And it also means more powers over public services.

An all Wales Policing plan [would be] drawn up with the Home Secretary, giving the Welsh people responsibility to shape policing in Wales. And the Welsh people should have the power to determine what energy projects are right for Wales.

– Labour Leader Ed Miliband MP

The Labour leader said nothing about the further devolution of tax raising powers but promised that the party would make sure that Wales was not " "unfairly disadvantaged" by the Barnett formula.

In his speech to the Welsh Labour conference, First Minister Carwyn Jones announced that the Welsh Government is creating a new Entrepreneurship Support scheme to encourage new businesses and jobs. It will be partly financed with European Union aid.

Wales isn’t just a great place to come and do business, it is a great place to grow your own business. And it is about to get better. Today I am pleased to announce the creation of a new £40 million Entrepreneurship Support scheme for Wales - this will support 10,000 new enterprises, and create over 17,000 new jobs over the next five years.

Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies said it was "more empty rhetoric from Labour's First Minister of broken promises. In a week when Carwyn Jones talked of ‘juvenile politics’, Welsh communities will rightly see through his hypocrisy."

This is the Welsh Labour leader who said his party took its eye off the ball on education.
This is the Welsh Labour leader who runs the only UK health service where funding is falling.
Like a scratched record, he repeats the same promises, yet delivers on none.
Welsh Conservatives are the only alternative to a lazy Labour government that has run out of ideas.